


I'm Your Co-Pilot, Co-Pilot

by jaegerpilot



Category: the fandom of none of your business i don't want this in the tag right now so piss off
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-21
Updated: 2013-08-21
Packaged: 2017-12-24 04:46:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/935537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jaegerpilot/pseuds/jaegerpilot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tim Gutterson becomes a Ranger (the Jaeger kind -- the Army kind is so passé) in the year 2016 and pilots a Mark II Jaeger with Johnny Tuturro.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'm Your Co-Pilot, Co-Pilot

**Author's Note:**

> Um this started out as just a Tim fic but then I had to give him a co-pilot and I don't do OCs and Johnny's the best so??? Also idk the weird change of tenses is that good or bad I don't even care ok. Hopefully it'll somewhat work out though and hopefully I'll be able to keep my concentration and come back for another chapter or two or however many until it's done?? Also I run with the gay until proven otherwise theory when it comes to most characters so.
> 
> (EDIT: originally posted on July 21st but I deleted this because of reasons but then leslielol (who is fab ok) said she wanted to read it (literally the day after I deleted it) so here it is -- just for you bbe <33)

When the first kaiju attacked San Francisco in 2013, the whole Marshals office watched it on TV with disbelief. Buildings crumbling like nothing under the weight of the massive beast that seemingly came from nowhere. It stretched on for days, each one passing by with no good news, until the sixth day when the tanks and jets finally took it down. Watching the cameras pan in and out from the helicopters circling the fallen carcass, the whole office was silent.

“Godzilla,” Raylan had said, shaking his head. “I felt like we were being punk’d.”

“Over 10,000 people,” Rachel told them, though everyone already knew. “Three cities destroyed.”

The office never stopped its hum of nervous whispering, some Marshals still placing phone calls to relatives asking about other relatives and friends who might have been near the attack. Trying to see if anyone had any more news than they did in the past few days.

“Suddenly Kentucky seems like the best place on Earth,” Art had said. Everyone nodded, a few tearing up.

And Tim had kept to himself, watching the news like everyone else but having a completely different reaction. Aliens. Giant monsters. Coming up out of the sea and destroying cities. He looked at the mess of chaos and destruction in playing out in front of him and he felt the whole world come together. He felt like the sky had opened up and presented him with his life’s plan.

Sure, he liked being a Marshal. It was easy, it was simple, it was him getting to use the skills he’d spent so many years honing – without the intense baggage that came along with Afghanistan. (He was still working on unloading that shit.) But being a Marshal didn’t get his blood pumping, didn’t get his adrenaline kicking his whole body into overdrive. There was no high that came along with being a Marshal.

Being an Army Ranger was the closest he’d gotten to that, but the lows were too low to let the highs do anything other than make coming down from them that much harder. But this. A giant monster attacking civilians. This was something he could get into.

Killing was intense. There was no two ways about it. Taking a life was something that could either lift you up or eat you alive. (As much as he rallied against it, the latter seemed to be Tim’s result from his tour.) It was taking a human life that could tear you up inside but hunting animals was out of the question. Tim liked animals, they were innocent and they didn’t do bad shit to each other. People were much more terrible and seemingly deserving of being killed – but there was definitely something very soul-shattering about killing someone that could’ve easily been you.

However, an alien that appeared to have come to Earth for the soul purpose of destroying its populace… now that seemed like a kill Tim could get behind and sleep like a baby afterwards.

So while the office was consistenly abuzz with horror and disbelief, Tim was wondering if that was going to be the last monster of mass destruction they’d be seeing or if there’d be another that he could get in on taking down. And as much as he wished he wasn’t hoping for another one to pop out of the ocean …he definitely was.

 

Fast forward three years.

Odin Prowler. Tim’s own Mark II Jaeger. He looks up at in awe and an intense feeling blooms in his chest.

“Yo Timmy you ready for this?” a voice asks, coming up behind him.

Joe Tuturro. Navy Seal trainee turned FBI Agent turned Jaeger co-pilot. Actual dickhead. Almost as much as Tim.

“No, see, the real question is are you ready?” Tim drawls. “Cause the last thing I need is some Navy Seal flunk-out wetting his pants in my Jaeger cause it turned out he wasn’t cut out for this kind of shit. So just let me know now and I’ll find someone more qualified.”

Johnny makes a face that says it all. “Shut up man, I’m more concerned about you and your boo-hoo whiny punk-ass army problems showing up in my drift.”

“Yeah well you don’t chase my rabbit and I won’t chase yours.”

Johnny laughs, “Man I ain't no dog chasing down no rabbit.” He flexes his biceps. “I’m more Greek god. Why you think they named this bad boy Odin?”

Tim feels a twinge at the corners of his own mouth that he forces down. “Odin’s a Norse god.”

Johnny drops his arms. “Well aren’t you just mister I’m-so-smart-let-me-snatch-up-any-happy-moment-Johnny-ever-has. Shut up and get in your damn suit."

Tim grins, showing teeth, which he doesn't do often. "Alright co-pilot."

Johnny flaps his hand at his nuisance of a friend and makes a psh sound. "Yeah, uh-huh, right, as if I'm  _your_  co-pilot, co-pilot."

 

They suit up and get themselves positioned in the head of their jaeger. They're nervous, both of them, though neither of them are saying so. It's their first drift together, they'll figure it out soon enough. Neither of them know what to expect.

"Just stay in the drift," Johnny says. "Don't chase the rabbit."

"I know," Tim tells him. "Cool it."

"I'm not talking to you," Johnny shoots back. "Don't chase the rabbit, Johnny," he repeats to himself quietly. "Don't chase the rabbit." He's bouncing slightly in his suit. Nerves.

Tim reaches over, puts his hand on his co-pilots arm. "It's gonna be fine," he says, "just let it all flow past." For a moment he's genuine, there's a look of true concern on his face. Then he does that shit-filled grin again. "Well we're gonna be best friends after this," he smirks.

Johnny realizes he never really knew what the word "sardonic" meant until he met Tim Gutterson. The guy was all dry wit and sarcasm.

"Guess I should just tell you upfront about me and your mom then," Johnny says.

"Which means I oughta tell you about me and your--" Tim stops short, his face dropping, looking like he just remembered something important that he couldn't believe he forgot.

"Uh... you okay dude?" Johnny asks, looking at Tim half with concern and half with the expectation this is all part of a joke. He's hoping it's the latter.

But Tim's thinking about the fact he's gay and it's in his head and Jesus Christ how could he forget about something like this? And he's so shocked that this little detail had completely escaped him until just right in this moment and he's so suddenly stressed at the thought of Johnny chasing that rabbit down that he just looks at co-pilot and outright says, "I'm gay." _  
_

Johnny stares at him silently, unmoving. And then he laughs and says, "Um, okay. Did you just realize that right now or...?"

"What?" Tim asks.

"Bro you looked like you just got shot with a tazer or something, okay?" He laughs again. "Or a pile of bricks landed on your head except it wasn't actually a pile of bricks it was the relization that you're gay..." Johnny's laughing but once he sees Tim isn't joining in he stops. "Sorry man, I'm sorry, that was rude of me. Uh, thanks for telling me, I guess? I mean, I was gonna see it in the drift but... if we're unloading secret sexual orientations then I guess now's a good time to tell you I'm  _not actually straight_." He whispers the last three words with overexaggerated secrecy, throwing shifty looks around the empty room. Then he smiles his big Johnny Tuturro smile and lightly punches Tim in the shoulder. "Alright best friend," he says, "we ready to do this now?"


End file.
